Poorly written school board letter...need your advice. (Richard)

[Old Dog New Trick]

Seeking advice from the general masses. If you received an email written this poorly from your local School Board Superintendent Office, would you be compelled to reply with - "I can see why my son is do(ing) so poorly in school these days?"

This letter is seeking support and advice from "parents" in fixing some current and existing problems meeting "common core" and other federal guidelines that the schools are failing in. Except, as you read it, it seems "parents" are last in a long list of other "stakeholders."

I find the improper spelling, or miss use of the proper words, and other grammar issues as comic relief to the underlying problems of the current educational system failures and the need to punish my son for misbehaving in an overcrowded classroom; instead of teaching control and education.

I sincerely hope, these were not his three questions to move the discussion forward. I also believe there is a missing ":" between - other community leaders like: Mayors and Police, etc... (But what I do I know I'm a high school drop out with a GED and some college. ;) )

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As many of you know, I am in the process of collecting data to be analyzed and used in the development of a five year strategic plan for the Fife School District. Part of that process is having meaningful conversations with all of our stakeholder groups. I have spent a good portion of the past two months in schools speaking with and listening to our leadership teams, administrators and staff members regarding their thoughts on the current status of our district. I have asked three simple questions to help guide those conversations. One, in the Fife School District or in your particular school, what do we need to stop doing? Two, what do we need to start do? And three, what so we need to continue doing? The conversations have been rich and are giving me great insight.

I consider parents one of our most valued stakeholder groups and would be honored to have you attend one of our two scheduled parent “focus groups” we will be holding in the next few weeks. I have teamed with an educational consultant who will be facilitating 14 focus groups overall. Groups range from students, teachers, administrators, classified employees, community leaders like Mayors and Police Chiefs, community partners like FME, Chambers of Commerce and the FME Kiwanis, district office personnel and parents. Our consultant will facilitate all of the conversations on my behalf and convert the conversations into a data format to be shared with me and our school board. The information will serve as the foundation of our strategic plan that we hope to create this spring and summer. The bottom line is that your input is important and critical!

I hope you have the availability in your busy schedule to attend one of the two open focus groups for parents. Below are all the details:

What? Fife School District Parent Focus Group conversation

When? March 23, 2015 or March 24, 2015

Time? 6:00-7:30 PM both evenings

Where? Fife School District office Boardroom

Address 5802 20th St E. Tacoma WA 98424
Thank you for considering this opportunity to participate in the parent focus group as we try to plan for the future of your children and their school experiences in the Fife School District! Please contact Sara McFarland at (omitted) or (omitted) should you have any questions.

Kevin Alfano

Superintendent

Fife Public Schools

BTW, my son is second grader who gets in trouble all the time talking about guns and shooting. :D

[x SF med]

Brother, the educational system in WA is hit or miss... in a very short distance (in Pierce Co.) you have Fife, Puyallup, Bethel and Tacoma School districts. In order of quality of education, Puyallup would be the big winner, and the other 3 are all tied for mediocre at best.

Have you thought about/have the funds for a Private or Catholic School? In either of those the stakeholder chain is Student, Parent, governing board who are more worried about education and reputation than government funding.

Just a thought...

[Old Dog New Trick]

Ha! Need one of those fancy SufacePro tablets so I can write on the screen. (Things you can't do with an Apple.)

"Sir, you get a "D" for English 100 and written communications) :D

[Old Dog New Trick]

Brother, the educational system in WA is hit or miss... in a very short distance (in Pierce Co.) you have Fife, Puyallup, Bethel and Tacoma School districts. In order of quality of education, Puyallup would be the big winner, and the other 3 are all tied for mediocre at best.

Have you thought about/have the funds for a Private or Catholic School? In either of those the stakeholder chain is Student, Parent, governing board who are more worried about education and reputation than government funding.

Just a thought...

Yep, when I bought here schools were high on my list. Fife was rated high at the time (eight years ago) and a reason I departed Bethal and East Pierce Co. They are the worst.

I was hoping he would be fine with public school in the early years and was saving for later private institutions. Now, I'm rethinking that and will put him private school next year. Cascade Christian or Spring Valley (Montessori) school. I figured wrong but that's life.

Discovery "Primary" was good, it's Endevour "Intermediate" (and others) that are failing.

[cat in the hat]

maybe just email a link to this thread?

[Old Dog New Trick]

maybe just email a link to this thread?

Ha!

Probably not in my best interest. I already have a warmed seat in the principal's office. :rolleyes: Everyone knows my son, for all the wrong reasons. :lifter

He's facinated by guns and a warrior spirit! :D

[x SF med]

Ha!

Probably not in my best interest. I already have a warmed seat in the principle's office. :rolleyes: Everyone knows my son, for all the wrong reasons. :lifter

He's facinated by guns and a warrior spirit! :D

It's Principal's office. and what is wrong with a young male child fascinated by guns and the warrior spirit? I would hazard a guess that there are at least a couple of people in SF who might have had that selfsame set of fascinations. Society wants to pussify everything, make everybody a winner without having them work for it, this is just one of the symptoms.

The Pungent Sound is becoming so kalifornicated and Libtard, that I'm getting out. (although, you do have Louie G's, the Poodle Dog and Johhny's at Fife close by...)

[Old Dog New Trick]

Good for you and him.

BTW I was NOT joking about correcting the letter in red ink just like my English teacher used to do. Send it back and ask them how they expect the students to learn from staff not willing or able to set a good example.

I like that. Print it, correct it, grade it, and send it back. At least I will have participated in the process.

I have a 10 page "essay" that I wrote sometime back when my son was being singled out for disturbing the class and acting out, that by the time I finished and my anger levels dissipated I'd missed the point. Although in the end, I wanted my kid out of that school and he wanted "desperately" to stay...

Frustrated Dad.

[Sigaba]

BTW I was NOT joking about correcting the letter in red ink just like my English teacher used to do. Send it back and ask them how they expect the students to learn from staff not willing or able to set a good example.I think that this approach is a spectacularly bad idea. It risks embarrassing unnecessarily an administrator who is trying to encourage dialog. I recommend instead an "oh, by the way" comment during a break in a meeting.

I do agree that the ordering of stakeholders may be problematic. If the parents' focus group is among the last groups to meet, it may mean that parents are getting co-opted rather than consulted.

My $0.02.

[Old Dog New Trick]

It's Principal's office. and what is wrong with a young male child fascinated by guns and the warrior spirit? I would hazard a guess that there are at least a couple of people in SF who might have had that selfsame set of fascinations. Society wants to pussify everything, make everybody a winner without having them work for it, this is just one of the symptoms.

The Pungent Sound is becoming so kalifornicated and Libtard, that I'm getting out. (although, you do have Louie G's, the Poodle Dog and Johhny's at Fife close by...)

Auto correct gone rogue. (But I still misspelled it, good thing I'm not a paid educator.)

You got that right with the Principal. Thankfully the VP grew up in Montana! He at least understands me, it's the domination of other "educators" that are trying to "pussify" our next generation.

[Old Dog New Trick]

I think that this approach is a spectacularly bad idea. It risks embarrassing unnecessarily an administrator who is trying to encourage dialog. I recommend instead an "oh, by the way" comment during a break in a meeting.

I do agree that the ordering of stakeholders may be problematic. If the parents' focus group is among the last groups to meet, it may mean that parents are getting co-opted rather than consulted.

My $0.02.

Duly noted.

Thanks

[x SF med]

Auto correct gone rogue. (But I still misspelled it, good thing I'm not a paid educator.)

You got that right with the Principal. Thankfully the VP grew up in Montana! He at least understands me, it's the domination of other "educators" that are trying to "pussify" our next generation.

Now you owe me a beer and 20 rounds of 168 gr .308 Match... I'll waver on the ammo, but not the beer.

[Old Dog New Trick]

Now you owe me a beer and 20 rounds of 168 gr .308 Match... I'll waver on the ammo, but not the beer.

Deal.

When I come to visit I'll bring the ammo, just happen to have that exact bullet and grade. :D

ETA: oh, and I'll bring Tony, but he can't drink beer yet.

[JJ_BPK]

I like that. Print it, correct it, grade it, and send it back. At least I will have participated in the process.

I have a 10 page "essay" that I wrote sometime back when my son was being singled out for disturbing the class and acting out, that by the time I finished and my anger levels dissipated I'd missed the point. Although in the end, I wanted my kid out of that school and he wanted "desperately" to stay...

Frustrated Dad.

Copy the local news papers and TV stations.. in a letter to the editor

They don't dare not print it...

[MR2]

Did you intend to say 20 rounds or 20 pounds? :D

[x SF med]

Deal.

When I come to visit I'll bring the ammo, just happen to have that exact bullet and grade. :D

ETA: oh, and I'll bring Tony, but he can't drink beer yet.

He shoots, right? I'm only .308/.22/9mm/20ga right now... I have to use single sizes, so I don't get confused. Little short ones are .22, short fat ones are 9mm, shiny longer rounds are .308, heavy plastic brightly colored tootsie roll sized is the 20ga...:rolleyes:

[x SF med]

Did you intend to say 20 rounds or 20 pounds? :D

The offense was not so egregious as to warrant 20 pounds of .308, but that is a stellar idea! Even better would have been 20 pounds of GOOD cigars.

Or............30 pounds of clean and useable brass.... yeah... that's it... 30 pounds of brass.

[Richard]

I agree with Sigaba's advice on this one and would surmise that somebody else either has or will point it out for them soon anyway.

As far as stakeholders go, I think the order of precedence of those involved in the educational process should have been:

"Groups range from students, parents, teachers, administrators, classified employees, and district office personnel to community leaders (Mayors and Police Chiefs), community partners (like FME), and Chambers of Commerce and the FME Kiwanis."

Why the superintendent chose the order he did may (or, may not) be telling in his or the Board's focus with such matters, or he may have simply chosen that order to end his sentence with a focus on the subject of his previous sentence - parents. However, it seems a bit odd to me and shows a definite lack of the politics involved in such endeavors, especially for someone who has attained that level of educational leadership.

The grammar errors you've pointed out are not, IMO, a particularly good sign. Those errors should have been caught easily. However, they may not be the superintendent's. The errors may habe been made by whoever transcribed the notes/letter to the district's web-site - but - I would have assumed the superintendent would have reviewed it again prior to it being sent out like that as a "just in case" precaution.

One thing I learned when working at higher HQs, the embassy, and as an administrator, in-house communications may contain a minor spelling/grammar error or two and be acceptable, but if it went to a higher HQs or an outside agency, it needed to be "letter perfect" as it was viewed as a reflection upon your organization's abilities to pay attention to detail and whether or not there was an organizational focus upon ensuring even relatively minor matters were taken seriously.

Being involved in your son's education is important. Being overly involved in what is commonly referred to as a "helicopter parent" can be problematic for your son, his school, and you. To that end, I'd let this one go for the moment...but be vigilant.

I wish you all the best in your endeavors.

Richard

** I did that (habe) on purpose just for the heck of it. **

[Old Dog New Trick]

Thanks Richard!

And that folks is why I put his name in the title. A well thought out and reasoned response.

I've got so many issues with this school; this is just one of them. They went from being one of the top five districts in the state to failing the students in many ways beyond just "federal standards" and "common core," and I don't think it's a money issue. It's an ideology issue that doesn't focus on education.

"Hypersensitivity and Zero Tolerance" have replaced common sense.

[1stindoor]

My wife and I, along with my youngest son, just finished visiting different Div II and Div III colleges for football. One of the Div II schools produced a nice glossy, bound, booklet, complete with pictures and statistics about their school. My wife and I lost count after a dozen spelling and grammitical errors. I think it reeks of laziness. Spellcheck and grammercheck is built into just about every word program out there. It's a click of a button. I agree with Richard's assessment, but it's also a telling indicator of their level of professionalism.

[Tree Potato]

As others have indicated, pointing out errors in the letter may not be the best course of action.

On the bright side, be very glad he's seeking input. That mindset alone is worth nurturing and mentoring. Too many school boards insulate themselves from input from any outside sources.

A small number of us are leading a school district reform insurgency in a state near you, and the board and superintendent are the center of gravity. Our district is so focused on funding streams, policies, and daily minutiae they're not regularly addressing actual education concerns. In our quest to steer them to do better we've found several leadership issues that must be fixed to improve education here. A couple references we've found useful for guiding our superintendent and board are pasted below; it's a work in progress. Good luck!

http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Public-education/Eight-characteristics-of-effective-school-boards/Eight-characteristics-of-effective-school-boards.html

http://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/leadership.pdf

[Old Dog New Trick]

As others have indicated, pointing out errors in the letter may not be the best course of action.

On the bright side, be very glad he's seeking input. That mindset alone is worth nurturing and mentoring. Too many school boards insulate themselves from input from any outside sources.

A small number of us are leading a school district reform insurgency in a state near you, and the board and superintendent are the center of gravity. Our district is so focused on funding streams, policies, and daily minutiae they're not regularly addressing actual education concerns. In our quest to steer them to do better we've found several leadership issues that must be fixed to improve education here. A couple references we've found useful for guiding our superintendent and board are pasted below; it's a work in progress. Good luck!

http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Public-education/Eight-characteristics-of-effective-school-boards/Eight-characteristics-of-effective-school-boards.html

http://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/leadership.pdf

Thanks for those links, and your support. I'm sure that my local board is aware of these initiatives but, I'll bring them to their attention if they are not.

Thanks again.